Organ donation awareness: saving lives and encouraging compassion

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

- NADIA KHAN

WITH at least 4 300 people requiring a lifesaving organ or tissue transplant in the country, their chances of receiving the “gift of life” remains improbable due to the lack of donations.

Samantha Nicholls, the executive director of operations at the Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa, said fewer than 1% of eligible South Africans were registered donors.

“There are less than 100 actual organ donors per year, which means there are about 1.6 donors per million population. This is the lowest in the world. However, about 4 300 people, including adults and children, are on waiting lists. Unfortunately, less than 300 organ transplants are performed each year.”

Nicholls said while all organs were urgently needed, the greatest demand was for kidney donations, as they made up the largest portion of patients on the transplant waiting list.

“The average waiting time for a kidney, if the person does not have a living donor, can be from five to 12 years. In respect to the other solid organs such as the liver, heart, pancreas, spleen and lungs, the waiting time varies according to urgency and donor to recipient compatibility.